ELIU (EHR. 'EITHI, SETTANTA 'ELIOUÇ)

To vindicate his innocence, Job invokes a formal trial in which he proposes to confront God, whom he believes to be angry with him, and refute the three friends, who have become his relentless accusers (Jb 13:18; 31:35–37). He therefore desires an arbiter, an advocate to plead his cause: “Oh, that there were an umpire between us…” (Jb 9:33); “Who will give me someone to hear me?” (ibid., 31:35a). This arbiter is Elihu, who intervenes with a tone altogether distinctive: Job must not say that God persecutes him; God sends evils not only to punish but also to preserve and to purify. Thus Elihu vindicates Job’s innocence, enlightens him regarding the purpose of his sufferings, and foreshadows the final intervention on his behalf. In this way, Elihu’s discourses occupy an essential place: “I will not have God occupy an essential place” (Jb 9:36).